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Mariner or Escape? Newbie here

I'm a newbie to this site and look forward to both your insight and experiences with both Ford and LM's hybrid version SUV's. I live in northern NJ and at this time of year I am finding it almost impossible to locate a dealer who has an FEH in stock at all. I have not yet checked into the Lincoln yet - it's a bit more pricey than the Ford but may be forced to due to the lack of '07 FEH vehicles. I'm leaning towards the FWD model for better mpg's and less $$$'s.

Love to hear some feedback from owners of both vehicles ... and others like myself who are still shopping. Thanks in advance for your help. I'm looking forward to acquiring one and becoming a valued contributor here in this forum.

I own a 2005 4WD/AWD FEH, with almost 30,000 miles on it. It's 2-year birthday is later this month :-)

I love my hybrid. As I understand it, the only difference between the FEH and the MMH is the options available on the MMH. If you aren't driving in much snow, I'd get the FWD. I drive in alot of snow and ice, and love the automatic four-wheel drive feature of the 4WD/AWD. I got my 2005 with all of the "bells and whistles" available that model year. Get about 31 mpg in the summer, and right now in our bone-chilling cold am only getting about 27 mpg. Still a heck of a lot better, though, than my prior SUV.

First of all, if you honestly believe that you are helping Americas "gas crisis" and stoping "pollution" by buying a Hybrid car, YOU ARE A MORON.
Fact 1 - A Hybrid car STILL uses GAS. Your not saving american soldiers in iraq, your not telling "Big Oil" to screw themselves, All your doing by buying a hybrid is adding to the gas crisis by showing that you don't care if you only get 15to20mpg more than a non-hybrid car, especally when you spend $10,000 or more to have that coveted "Hybrid Car".
Fact 2 - Hybrids get what 50mpg to 60mpg if that, wow, non hybrid cars such as Volkswagon diesels get 40mpg to 50mpg as well as honda civics and other toyata non-hybrids that get well over 30mpg, without having to use the much vaunted "electric engine" and with a cost that is thousands of dollars less than a hybrid.
(What a concept, if you by a car that gets 20mpg LESS than a hybrid, for say $5000 LESS than a Hybrid You now would not have to worry about gas seeing that $5000 in your pocket is worth at least 3 years in gas. "But if I buy a Hybrid for $5000 more I will save on gas!", Sure you will, If your a MORON. You will pay thousands of dollars more for car that saves a couple 10-20mpg,
SIMPLE MATH = Can a Hybrid save money?
Non-Hybrid car - I can buy a $5000 non-hybrid used car and put $2000 away for gas for 2 years, Now I have a car for $7000 with gas for 2 years.
Hybrid car - $20,000+ and add the gas for 2 years to that, only $1500 for gas for 2 years compared to $2000 for a non-Hybrid because hybrids get "such" better gas milage.
So in conclusion - Does the hybrid car "really" save you money? hum, $7,000 compared to $20,000 plus.
Fact 3 - How much pollution is put in the air from the production plants making these completly worthless Hybrid cars.
Conclusion - Some people think that by buying a hybrid car that they are helping save Americans, the communtiy, the planet, etc.
THIS IS ALL BULLSHIT.
Please see through the "HYBRID HYPE" and REALIZE that HYBRID CARS STILL USE GAS!!!
And if you are still using GAS you are not solving any "problems" related to the gas crisis, you are only further perpetuating the current gas crisis.

First of all, if you honestly believe that you are helping Americas "gas crisis" and stoping "pollution" by buying a Hybrid car, YOU ARE A MORON.
Fact 1 - A Hybrid car STILL uses GAS. Your not saving american soldiers in iraq, your not telling "Big Oil" to screw themselves, All your doing by buying a hybrid is adding to the gas crisis by showing that you don't care if you only get 15to20mpg more than a non-hybrid car, especally when you spend $10,000 or more to have that coveted "Hybrid Car".
Fact 2 - Hybrids get what 50mpg to 60mpg if that, wow, non hybrid cars such as Volkswagon diesels get 40mpg to 50mpg as well as honda civics and other toyata non-hybrids that get well over 30mpg, without having to use the much vaunted "electric engine" and with a cost that is thousands of dollars less than a hybrid.
(What a concept, if you by a car that gets 20mpg LESS than a hybrid, for say $5000 LESS than a Hybrid You now would not have to worry about gas seeing that $5000 in your pocket is worth at least 3 years in gas. "But if I buy a Hybrid for $5000 more I will save on gas!", Sure you will, If your a MORON. You will pay thousands of dollars more for car that saves a couple 10-20mpg,
SIMPLE MATH = Can a Hybrid save money?
Non-Hybrid car - I can buy a $5000 non-hybrid used car and put $2000 away for gas for 2 years, Now I have a car for $7000 with gas for 2 years.
Hybrid car - $20,000+ and add the gas for 2 years to that, only $1500 for gas for 2 years compared to $2000 for a non-Hybrid because hybrids get "such" better gas milage.
So in conclusion - Does the hybrid car "really" save you money? hum, $7,000 compared to $20,000 plus.
Fact 3 - How much pollution is put in the air from the production plants making these completly worthless Hybrid cars.
Conclusion - Some people think that by buying a hybrid car that they are helping save Americans, the communtiy, the planet, etc.
THIS IS ALL BULLSHIT.
Please see through the "HYBRID HYPE" and REALIZE that HYBRID CARS STILL USE GAS!!!
And if you are still using GAS you are not solving any "problems" related to the gas crisis, you are only further perpetuating the current gas crisis.

Those statements are further from than "THE TRUTH" than you are. You need to buy a hybrid and see for yourself.

The rant against hybrids

The rant against hybrids using the silly math argument has a point, it is just not THE point. It depends on what your goal is; is the goal to use less gas or is the goal to save as much money as possible?

I think that using less gas is always better than using more gas. How much a person spends to use less gas will depend on the price of the vehicle (rebates?/tax credit?), mpg, average price of gas, and the total miles driven over the life of the vehicle. If the point is to use less gas, buying anything that uses less gas is going in the right direction (hybrid or not).

For me I want to use less gas, but I NEED a larger sized vehicle than a small car. A small SUV is the smallest thing that will serve my needs. I don't mind paying more for a hybrid suv vehicle in the short run, to get higher mpg and use less gas. My actual savings/cost is unknown at this point because all the math depends on the future price of gas, my mpg saved, and the total number of miles I will drive the vehicle.

The person seemed to suggest that I should do the math. So, is the person claiming that buying the less expensive and lower mpg vehicle is better? That person would PREFER me to use MORE gas if it costs less? If the point were ONLY to save as much money as possible - which an earlier comment suggested, then walking would seem to be the best answer. Cost $0 and you would use 0 gas. I hope that person walks. Buying ANY vehicle (hybrid, gas, all electric, solar, anything...) would cost more than $0 and would be a waste of money according to that logic.

I don't care about the cost and I need a small suv
For ME using less gas (while being able to satisfy my particular transportation needs) is important. I want to use less gas. If they currently sold a vehicle that I could get serviced in my area that used no gas, and would suit my needs, I would buy it. They don't, so I can't. I bought the best gas mileage vehicle I could that met the needs that I have. Depending on the price of gas in the future, and how long I own my vehicle (total miles that I drive it), I might even save money too.

I have a 2006 FEH FWD. It

I have a 2006 FEH FWD. It cost me $3200 more than if I had purchased the non-hybrid version of the same model. At the time, I earned the $2300 tax credit. I get 33/31 during the warmer months and 31/29 during the colder months when the gas additive is added. I figure that I save about 7-9 mpg driving the hybrid. I drive 16-18K miles per year. I save about 175 gal of gas per year. At $3 per gallon, thats about $525 per year, say $500 even. So, by January 2008, I had broken even on the costs of the hybrid vs the non-hybrid. And after then, I get about $500 per year of pure savings. Plus, I use produce virtually no emissions and do my part to reduce the gas depency of the US by consuming less gas. Works for me.

I love the FEH. I does all that I want and I can still haul relatively large amounts of furniture and equipment in the back. I have a light truck that still gets over 30 mpg. Can't beat that.

I have no personal information about this, but I've heard that for some reason the MMH gets slightly lower gas ratings (about 2 mpg lower), but I don't know this for myself.